If you have been following this series of articles on Five Steps To Get You Started In Living Your Ideal Life, by now you are well on your way to changing the paradigm that you have been living in for so long. By now you should have outlined a detailed version of what you would consider to be an ideal life for you. You have learned that with change you will experience being uncomfortable with the situations and circumstances that are new to you but you also have learned how to be comfortable with experiencing this on a regular basis. You have also learned how to rescue time from your busy life to dedicate to building the life that you so desire to live. In this part of our series you will learn how to bring all of these lessons together in bringing your ideal life from your thoughts and dreams into your reality. Here you will learn how to make a map, or plan if you will, that will carry you through times of uncertainty and keep you on the path to your destination and the realization of achieving your goals. After all it is much easier to reach a place that you have never been to if you have got a map to guide you through the foreign territory that you will journey through. Adventure awaits… let’s get to planning.

• Make a plan. Here’s where you make the link between what you want and how you intend to get it. Just as before when you wrote down in detail how you would picture your ideal life you will now write down (yes, again by hand) your plan of action for making each and everything happen. Before you start questioning the validity of having to take the time to do this work, ask yourself how you plan to reach your destination (which you have not been able to do up to this point) without a map to follow to do so.
• Look at each aspect of your ideal life as you have written it and take the time to think about why you have not been able to achieve it up until this point. What are the major obstacles that you have and continue to face that are keeping you from your goals? Write them down. Now think creatively about how you could overcome each obstacle so that it does not come back to derail you (yet again) on your way to your destination. Come up with a minimum of five solutions and write them down. Now let’s look at each solution. From a practical standpoint which of these solutions provides the best chance of eliminating each obstacle. Then choose the best three and then out of those three choose the best solution and write it down is your number one method to eliminate your obstacle . Then pick the next best solution and write it down as your number two choice. Then take your last choice and write it down as the number three method. Repeat this process for each aspect of the life you wish to live. By doing this you are creating a strong “roadmap” to guide you step-by-step from where you currently are to your destination of where you wish to be in life. While you may not have the perfect solution every time to overcome your obstacles, you are making progress towards reaching your goals. Adjust and refine your directions as necessary to reach your ultimate destination by the most efficient means possible.

I’ll see you on the road to success and have the champagne chilled at the finish line.

Please join us for our next article in our series – Part 5 – Eliminate Your (SQUIRREL!) Distractions